Jim Webb for President?

The former senator, a Virginia Democrat, Thursday said he was setting up an exploratory committee to look into whether he should run in 2016.

Webb, 68, who served as Navy secretary in the Reagan administration, could prove a centrist alternative to current frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Setting up the committee is the first step in the process of seeking the nomination.

“Results can be obtained, even in a paralyzed political environment, and in fact I believe we can un-paralyze the environment and re-establish a transparent, functioning governmental system in our country,” he wrote.

“I can assure you that we will be focusing not on petty politics or how to match a position with a poll, but on the future of our country and on solutions that will rebuild and unite us,” Webb said.

As an author and senator – he served one term and chose not to seek re-election in 2012 – he was known his no-nonsense demeanor.

“In politics nobody owns me and I don’t owe anybody anything, except for the promise that I will work for the well-being of all Americans, and especially those who otherwise would have no voice in the corridors of power. All I ask is that you consider the record I am putting before you, and give me the opportunity to earn your trust,” Webb said Thursday.